Apparatus for cleaning wells



Patented Mar. 26, 1946 AIPARATUS Willis P. Orr, Houston, Tex., assignorto Standard Oil Development Company, acorporation of DelawareApplication October 5, 1942, Serial No. &60,734

` 7 Claims. (Ci. iee-20) The present invention is directed to apparatusadapted to aid in cleaning a well before producing through a screen.

In my co-pending application, Serial No. 4603733, filed October 5, 1942,now abandoned, a method of cleaning wells before producing through ascreen is' disclosed. The method therein disclosed involves blocking offof the screen and removing foreign bodies from the well by fiowing wellfluid through a by-pass at a relatively high velocity. After thecleaning step the bypass is closed and the well then produced throughthe screen. .As disclosed in the aforesaid application, a number ofarrangements maybe employed to carry out the procedure. The presentapplication is directed to an embodiment useful for practicing themethod claimed in my above menticned application. i

Other objects and advantages of the present invention may be seen fromthe following description taken with the drawing in which Figures -1 and2 are elevations partiy in section, Figure 1 showing the device adjustedto by-pass a screen and Figure 2 illustrating the device arr-anged forfluid flow through ,the screen.

The invention may be described briefly as including side ports arrangedto by-pass a screen and a valve arranged at the upper end of the screento close off the screen from the Joy-pass. The device is arranged sothat after the well is cleaned manipulative steps performed by anoperator at the surface will close the by-pass and open the valve toallow production through the screen into the tubing.

Turning now specifically to the drawing, the lower portion of a hole isdisclosed with the lower end of casing I I provided with a conventionalcement plug !2. Within the casing and secured to a lower end of a stringof tubing l3 for loweri Ledge i& is provided with lefthand' screwthreads 20 whichtmate with similar threads on coupling member 2lattached. to the lower end of tubing [3 and serve as a means ofattaching the assembly to the string of tubing. Spaced above collar Ziis another coilar 22 carrying packe r setting tool 23, the two collarsbeing separated by a short joint of tubing za. This joint of tubing isprovided with a longitudinally extending slet 25. e

Side port 25 pierces member 55 and member li) secured thereto. A sleevemember 27 'is slidingly arranged within member I@ with its downwardmovement limited by member !9 and its upward movement limited byinwardly projecting ledge 28. Member 27 is provided with ports 29 `tocorres'pond with port 26 in members !5 and i@ and its upper end isprovided with inwardly projecting ring 30 to which is attached inwardlyextending shear pins %L A groove 32 is provided in member 21 and aspring catch 33 is secured to member w immediately below ledge 28.Moving of member 21 to its upper position closes side ports 26,`29 andmember Z'i is locked in this position by the engagement of catch 33 ingroove\ Circular ledge I& is preferably constructed of metal and isarranged to carry a second smaller ring 361 which is preferably formedof readily breakable material such as commercial moldable resins. thedrawing as rod 35 is provided at its lower end with plug 36 preferablyof a readily deformable material such as rubber. The members 34 and 36when arranged in the positionillustrated in Figure 1 form a valve toclose off the interior of screen i l from communication with theinterior of cylindrical member !5. The upper end of elongated body 35may be provided with a spear head 37 for engagement with a conventionalgrappling tool or overshot.` In addition the upper portion of theelongated body 35 is provided with a circular groove in which isarranged circumferentially movable annulus 38. Secured to annulus 38 bya shear pin 39 is a suitable member 40 arranged to :project through siot25. Itvis to be noted that shear pin 39 is constructed with a 'largercross section than is pin 3! to insure that pin si will shear before pin39.

In Operating the device of the present invention, tubing !5 havingattached thereto the'assembly arranged as illustrated in Figure 1islowered into the bore hole until the liner is on bottom, or-alternatively the liner may be hung in position by slip's. The tubingmay 'thenbe rotated to the right'to disengage left hand threads 20 andthe tubing raised enough to engage packer setting, tool 23 with packerl'l. The weight of the tubing'is then allowed to rest on the packer Anelongated body which is shown in in an amount sumcient to operate it toseal the annular space betweencylindrical member i! and casing ll;Thewell is then allowed to flow through side ports 26, 29 to removeforeign material from the annular space deflned by the screen and thebore hole and from the Iace of the producing formation. i

After the well is cleaned the by-pass may be closed and flow through thescreen initiated by either of the manipulative steps:

(1) An overshot on a wire line may be dropped inside the tubing toengage spear head 31. An upward pull on the wire line will first pullplug .38 out of member 34. Additional upward movement will 'engagemember 40 with pin 3! to raise sleeve 21 to its uppermost osition whereit is located with side port 26 closed by member 21. An additional pullon the wire line will first shear pin 3|,- then pin 39 to releaseelongated body this operation is completed the tubing may be allowed tomove downward to re-engage packer setting tool with packer l'l.

Having fully described and illustrated the pres- .ent invention, what Idesire to claim is:

1. A device adapted to be arranged in a bore hole comprising incombination a cylindrical member having side ports in an upper portionthereof, an inwardly projecting circular ledge secured to a lowerportion of said member, a sleeve provided with'ports corresponding tothe ports of said cylindrical member slidingly ar-- ranged in saidcylindrical member, a shoulder secured to said cylindrical memberlimiting the downward movement of said sleeve a second shoulder securedto said sleeve member limiting the upper movement of said sleeve, a plugarranged to cooperate with said inwardly projecting'ledge to seal thelower end of said sleeve when in a flrst position and to allow flowthrough the'opening defined by said ledge when in a second position,means adapted to be secured to a string of tubing for moving said sleevefrom said 'first to said second position and said plug from said firstto said second position.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which the means for movingsaid sleeve includes a shear pin and said means for moving said plugincludes a second shear pin.

3. A device in accordance with claim 1 including a rod attached to saidplug, a spear head secured to said rod adapted to be engaged by agrappling tool, a member secured to the upper end of said rod by a shearpin and a shear pin attached to said sleeve for engagement with saidmember. I

4. A device adapted to be arranged in a borehole and to be attached tothe upper'end of a. liner screen comprising, in combination, acylindrical member provided with side ports, a sleeve arranged to exposethe side ports when in `a`flrst position and to close said ports when ina second position relative to said cylindrical member, a valve memberarranged to close the lower end of said cylindrical member when in aflrst position and to allow fluid flow therethrough when in a secondposition relative to said cylindrical member, an elongated body arrangedwithin the cylindrical member to assume a first position and a secondposition relative to said cylindrical member. a flrst means carried 'bysaid body arranged to engage and move said sleeve from its first to itssecond p sition as the body moves from its flrst to its second positionand a second means carried bysaid body operatively connected with andarranged to move said valve member from its first to its second positionas the body moves from its first towards its second position.

5. A device adapted to be arranged in a borehole and to be attached tothe upper end o! a liner 'screen comprising, in combination, acylindrical member provided with side ports, a packer body mounted onsaid cylindrical member above said ports, a sleeve member carried bysaid cylindrical member and arranged to expose said side e ports when ina first position and to close said ports when in a second positionrelative to said cylindrical member, a valve member arranged to closethe lower .end of said cylindrical member when in a first position andto allow fluid flow therethrough when in a second position relativemeans secured to said body arranged to engage said sleeve member and tomove the sleeve and valve members 'from their first to their 'secondpositions as the body moves from its first to its second position.

6. A device in accordance with claim 5 in which a packer setting meansis mounted on said tu r in 7. A device adapted to be arranged in abore-. hole and tobe attached to the upper end of a liner screencomprising, in combination, a cylindrical member providedwith valveports, a sleeve member carried by said cylindrical member and arrangedto expose the ports when in a first position and to close them when in asecond position relative to said cylindrical member, a valve memberarranged to close the lower end of said cylindrical member when in afirst position and to allow fluid flow therethrough when in a secondposition relative to said cylindrical member, a tubing member extendinginto the cylindrical member and provided with readily disengageablemeans securing it to said cylindrical member', an elongated bodyarranged in the lower end of said tubing to m`ove longitudinally thereinfrom a first position to a second position and secured to said valvemember to move it from its first to its second position as the elongatedbody is moved from its first to its second position, and means securedto said body arranged to engage with and move the sleeve member from itsflrst to its second position as the body moves from its flrst to itssecond position.

WILLIS P. ORR.

